commentaries

About this Volume:

The reign of God has come in Jesus Christ, but in hiddenness, in humility and lowliness. Jesus came to serve and give his life as a ransom for many (10:45). Jesus promised a triumphant revelation of himself after the cross (14:28), but within Mark (ending at 16:8) the disciples do not yet see the glorious, risen Christ. They only have his Word (16:6–7).

So also we Christians do not see him and the kingdom fully implemented and manifested now. How difficult it is to be faithful on the basis of the Word alone—the disciples are testimony to that fact! If you had been there, it would not have been any easier for you than it is today. The evidence you have is what the disciples and the women had, also on that Easter morning: the promise of his Word, a Word that is ever sure.

About the Author:

James W. Voelz is professor of exegetical theology (New Testament) at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Mo., where he has taught since 1989. Previously he taught at Concordia Theological Seminary, Springfield, Ill./Fort Wayne, Ind. (1975–1989), and served as pastoral assistant at Zion Lutheran Church, Fort Wayne (1984–1988).

Dr. Voelz is a graduate of Concordia College, Milwaukee, Wis. (A.A., 1965), Concordia Senior College, Fort Wayne (B.A. in classics, 1967), and Concordia Seminary, St. Louis (M.Div., 1971). He earned his Ph.D. in biblical studies from Cambridge University, England (1978). He has done post-doctoral study with Bo Reicke (1982) and George B. Caird (1983). He is a member of Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas (SNTS), the international NT society, in which he has been co-chair of seminars for over twenty years, including “The Greek of the New Testament.” He has presented numerous papers at the SNTS and at the Society of Biblical Literature, in which he is also on the steering committee of the Mark Section. His Fundamental Greek Grammar has been published by Concordia Publishing House since 1986, and his hermeneutics textbook, What Does This Mean? Principles of Biblical Interpretation in the Post-Modern World, since 1995. His essay “The Language of the New Testament” in Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt (1984) is a standard in the field. Dr. Voelz has lectured widely throughout The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod at conferences for pastors and laity alike.

Dr. A. Andrew Das took some time to reflect on his Galatians commentary. Read on to learn what led him to this writing, what he thinks about modern Pauline scholarship, and how he hopes his commentary will be influential.

How did you become interested in studying Galatians?

In 1992 J. Louis Martyn taught a seminar on Galatians at Yale while he was in the process of preparing his Anchor Bible commentary. This was my first taste of a Pauline epistle at the graduate level, and the course introduced me to a entirely new way of understanding Second Temple Judaism as well as to what is called “the new perspective on Paul and the Law” (it’s not that new anymore).

The “new perspective” movement does not prioritize the Reformation’s emphasis on sin and grace and abandons anything remotely “Lutheran” in the reading of Paul. The first-century apostle is absorbed, instead, with rejecting the view that the gentiles need to become Jewish in order to enjoy membership in the people of God.

After a Lutheran seminary, this was an entirely new way to read Paul’s letters, and I returned to these discussions in my doctoral work. I also went back to the description of the Judaism of Paul’s day as a religion based on God’s gracious election of a people and mercy toward sinners. I developed what I have labeled a “newer perspective on Paul and the Law” (I guess it’s not “newer” anymore). My 2001 Paul, the Law, and the Covenant lays out my approach to reading Paul. The Galatians commentary, then, is a chance to return to the biblical book that got me started in my professional work.

What unique contribution does your commentary make?

The Galatians commentary differs from some of the other commentaries in the series. Since Pauline scholarship has been largely neglected in conservative Lutheran circles, and since Galatians is not an excessively long biblical book, I have tried to be fairly thorough in my review of the professional literature. So you will find in the footnotes of the commentary reference not only to all the other commentaries on Galatians but also to a range of journal articles, ancient sources, and other professional materials.

My hope is that this commentary will get the conservative Lutheran audience up to speed on what is going on in modern Pauline scholarship.

At the same time, this Galatians commentary is the very first that is written from the standpoint of my “newer perspective” on Paul and the Law. I have argued at length why one can accept an understanding of Judaism as a religion largely of grace rather than of “works righteousness,” the old caricature, and yet Paul understood that grace in terms of Christ and not the Mosaic Law. To take the path of Moses’ Law is simply a dead-end with respect to salvation. For that matter, the Law of Moses itself points the way forward to what God would be doing in Christ.

How do you hope your commentary on Galatians will influence the ministry, preaching, and teaching of pastors?

I was frustrated as a teenager and college student by preaching and teaching that did not advance my understanding of the Scriptures beyond what I had gleaned already before my teenage years. I went to seminary and graduate school in the hope of finding a way to offer something back to that bored teenager from years before.

Pastors and teachers in the church need to remain active and genuinely curious about the ancient biblical text. That curiosity, combined with good study patterns in the parish and a good set of tools, would, I am convinced, make a difference for many potentially disengaging parishioners. I am hoping that this Galatians commentary would provide pastors and teachers with a useful resource for personal study in Scripture as well as for preparing interesting, meaty Bible classes and engaging sermons.

Another problem in our circles is what I call a sort of “Gnostic” preaching and teaching of the biblical text. Conservative Lutheran pastors jump too quickly to the analogy of faith or to other biblical books when preaching a biblical text. There is a place for that, but later on in the interpretive process. Lou Martyn was right to stress to his students and colleagues that we have to imagine ourselves in the first-century congregations addressed by Paul in his Letter to the Galatians. That original setting is the rightful context in which we must interpret these words.

Unfortunately, unless we have personal connections with the Doctor and his TARDIS (a fairly sophisticated time machine), we are not able to go back in time to sit in one of those Galatians congregations when the letter was first being read and studied. That means that we need to reconstruct, as best as we can, what that original context must have been like. We need to study the first-century culture. We mine Paul’s letter for clues about the situation he was addressing. We test hypotheses about the original audience and situation. Then we go back and read the letter in view of that reconstruction.

This is the task not just of the scholar but also of the pastor, and especially of the congregation itself. Every pastor’s job is to transport the congregation back in time to those original audiences. We have to appreciate Galatians on its own terms before we then branch out and understand Galatians in view of the larger Pauline corpus. Then we branch out and interpret Galatians in view of the rest of the New Testament and the rest of the Scriptural witness. Finally, we are able to look at how Galatians was received through the centuries and understood within the framework of Lutheranism.

The problem is that too often interpreters ignore the crucial starting point with the original audience, and, when that happens, it becomes very easy to get these words on the page to mean something that reflects more our own modern discourse. We read our own conclusions into an ancient text. If this commentary gets the point across about the need for good interpretive work, then that will be one measure of its success.

What was the best part about writing your commentary?

Of course, the best part about writing the commentary is to see the labors finally completed and in print. Hopefully others will find it useful and of value, and to the Lord be the glory!

About the Author
A. Andrew Das is the Donald W. and Betty J. Buik Chair at Elmhurst College. Dr. Das authored Solving the Romans Debate (Fortress, 2007); Paul and the Jews (Hendrickson, 2003); Paul, the Law, and the Covenant (Hendrickson, 2001); and Baptized into God’s Family (Northwestern, 1991; 2d ed., 2008). He coedited The Forgotten God (Westminster John Knox, 2002).

His articles have appeared in Journal of Biblical Literature, Journal for the Study of the New Testament,New Testament Studies, Catholic Biblical Quarterly, Concordia Journal, Concordia Theological Quarterly, and Logia, as well as in Paul Unbound (Hendrickson, 2010), The New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible (Abingdon, 2009), Reading Paul’s Letter to the Romans (Society of Biblical Literature, 2012), Unity and Diversity in the Gospels and Paul (Society of Biblical Literature, 2012), The Law in Holy Scripture (Concordia, 2004), The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Bible and Ethics (forthcoming), and The Oxford Handbook of Pauline Studies (forthcoming).

He was an invited member of the Society of Biblical Literature’s Paul and Scripture Seminar and has presented at the Society of Biblical Literature; the African Society of Biblical Scholars; the Chicago Society of Biblical Research; the international Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas, of which he is an elected member; and the Evangelical Theological Society. He is also a member of the Catholic Biblical Association of America and serves on the Holman Christian Standard Bible revision committee.

He received his M.Div. from Concordia Theological Seminary and did his graduate work at Yale University, Duke University, and Union Theological Seminary in Virginia. He served as a pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church (LCMS) in Lombard, Ill., from 2000–2002 and assisted as a pastor at St. John’s Lutheran in Lombard from 2002–2004.

The apostle Paul wrote a passionate letter to the Galatians, offering a rare glimpse into the early history of the emerging Christian movement. At the center of debate is whether Gentile Christians should be compelled to obey the Law of Moses, or if justification is purely by grace. A. Andrew Das delivers an informed and well-researched interpretation of that letter and its implications, and critiques the analyses of others in the latest Concordia Commentary volume, Galatians.

Rev. Dr. Christopher Mitchell, Concordia Commentary Editor, says:

“Galatians stands at the center of the storm in modern Pauline scholarship—a hotbed of theological controversy over justification, whether it is by faith in Christ or by the faithfulness of Christ, the shape of the Christian life, and the role of the Law.

The apostle is seething with righteous indignation over the events at Galatia even as he conveys his hope that the Galatians might be coaxed back to the true Gospel.

The young faith was grappling with issues that would prove to be a watershed. Das has written a sophisticated commentarythat considers the full array of proposals from the ‘new perspective’ on Paul and the Law. He offers a trustworthy path through the controversies that will satisfy those searching for a viable solution to the impasse.”

Dr. R. Reed Lessing and Dr. Andrew E. Steinmann have completed a comprehensive isagogics textbook that examines and explores each book of the Old Testament.

Dr. Lessing talked to us about how the Old Testament connects to the New, the fascinating world of the prophets, and how the Old points to the New in Christ.

In your years at CSL, what were some of the questions you consistently heard students struggling with regarding the Old Testament?

Students find it difficult to connect the Old Testament with the New Testament. How does it relate to people’s lives? What are the ways it points to Christ? Are the texts regarding warfare still applicable to Christians today? Prepare the Way of the Lordanswers these questions in lucid and compelling ways.

You have written extensively on the OT (e.g., Isaiah, Amos, Jonah). What draws you to these books?

Israel’s prophets are a fascinating group. For example, over the course of a sixty-year ministry Isaiah repeatedly predicts his nation’s demise (e.g., Isa 3:1–26; 5:6; 10:1–6), reports seeing God (6:5), calls kings to account (e.g., ch 7), and walks around barefoot and naked for three years (ch 20). Jeremiah buries his underwear and then wears it again (Jer 13:1–11), successfully predicts a false prophet’s death (28:16–17), and dares to flaunt a king’s authority (ch 36). What is more, Hosea marries a prostitute (Hos 1:2), Ezekiel shows no remorse when his wife dies (Ezek 24:16–17), Jonah is swallowed by a great fish (Jonah 1:17), and Zechariah reports bizarre night visions (e.g., Zech 1:8–21). I find great delight in finding how this “goodly fellowship of the prophets” speaks to the Church.

As you transition to a congregation, can you talk about how laypeople would benefit from studying the OT?

Paul writes, “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Rom 15:4). Israel’s texts are full of great and precious promises, pointing us again and again to the beauty and power of Jesus. And, when we have Jesus, we have all that we need!

~~~

Dr. Andrew E. Steinmann is Distinguished Professor of Theology and Hebrew at Concordia University Chicago. Read on to see how he believes the book benefits students and why understanding the setting of events in biblical history is important.

As a university professor, how do you see this book benefiting college students?

Although designed to introduce seminary students to the basic issues surrounding the study of the Old Testament and each of its books, most chapters include a section that discusses how each book of the Old Testament points to Christ, either through prophecies about him or through themes that anticipate his life, ministry, preaching, death, and resurrection—important context for advanced undergraduate students. Many Old Testament introductions—even those written by Christians—do not address this most important focus of understanding the Old and New Testament Scriptures as the written revelation of God to his people. In addition, Dr. Lessing and I were careful to include discussion of the theories and beliefs of contemporary scholars concerning the composition, content, and historical background of the Old Testament books so that students would be able to understand what scholars are discussing and how to make sense of those discussions.

This area draws together several interests that make study of God’s Word exciting for me: love of language, and Hebrew language in particular; an abiding interest in history; a desire to see how God’s promise to save us from our sins played out in the era before Jesus’ incarnation and how the Law and Prophets prepared for Jesus’ life and ministry; and learning about the OT in order to better understand the NT, which makes extensive use of the OT in quotations, references, and themes.

You have also done extensive work on Old Testament chronology [link to book]. How important is it to understand not only the issues surrounding the OT but also the time in which they occurred?

God worked to save us by breaking into human history, especially in the person of Christ. To understand God’s working in history, we need to understand the setting of the events related in the pages of the Bible. That setting includes understanding the times in which they occurred: human culture, geography, politics, and everyday life. Without the ability to locate events in time, we cannot fully understand these other features. Moreover, understanding biblical chronology helps us understand how separate accounts in the biblical narratives relate to one another in time. Finally, understanding biblical chronology helps us see the full expanse of God’s patient but constant commitment to his people and their eternal welfare through his Son.

CPH is pleased to announce the release of the twenty-third volume in the Concordia Commentary series, available now. The new commentary covers 1, 2, and 3 John. These epistles represent the singular voice of an extraordinary theologian. John, the last living apostle, writes to his “children.” For decades John has served as the elder father of the house churches of Asia Minor, but during his exile, false teaching has persuaded some to abandon the faith and the life of the community of the beloved. At least one house church’s leader has presumed to advance his own teaching at the expense of the apostle’s instruction. [Read more…] about Concordia Commentary on the Johannine Epistles Available Now